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Sarah (7798 KP) rated Flight (2012) in Movies
Oct 13, 2018
Watchable but very lacking
For a film by Robert Zemeckis, I was expecting something with a lot more heart and a little less predictable.
The problem with this film is that the main character Whip isn’t particularly likeable. Whilst Denzel Washington does his best and does bring some odd moments of likeability, it’s very difficult to connect with this film when Whip is not a very good person. Of course everything turns out the way you’d expect from the outset but this just makes for a bit of a dull watch. Kelly Reilly is sorely underused and her character just seems to have been thrown in a little haphazardly, making little of her and her journey. The visual effects of the crash itself are very good and the soundtrack is great, although it does throw back a little too much to Forrest Gump. The whole film drags and does get a little talky and dull. It also seems to be putting out a strange message about the effects of alcoholism, and yet how a pilot saved a flight whilst he was drunk and high.... very odd.
It’s the type of film you’d watch once and it’s bearable enough to watch to the end, but not one you’d go out of your way to watch again.
The problem with this film is that the main character Whip isn’t particularly likeable. Whilst Denzel Washington does his best and does bring some odd moments of likeability, it’s very difficult to connect with this film when Whip is not a very good person. Of course everything turns out the way you’d expect from the outset but this just makes for a bit of a dull watch. Kelly Reilly is sorely underused and her character just seems to have been thrown in a little haphazardly, making little of her and her journey. The visual effects of the crash itself are very good and the soundtrack is great, although it does throw back a little too much to Forrest Gump. The whole film drags and does get a little talky and dull. It also seems to be putting out a strange message about the effects of alcoholism, and yet how a pilot saved a flight whilst he was drunk and high.... very odd.
It’s the type of film you’d watch once and it’s bearable enough to watch to the end, but not one you’d go out of your way to watch again.
Sean Farrell (9 KP) rated The Ice Twins in Books
Mar 15, 2018
Angus and Sarah Moorcraft are struggling to keep their marriage in tact after the tragic death of one of their twin daughters. To escape from the memories of the incident and to hopefully push past other issues including alcoholism and infidelity, they move to an isolated lighthouse on an island just off the coast of Scotland, which Angus inherited from his grandmother. It starts promisingly enough for the family, until it becomes apparent that their surviving twin, Kirstie, is very likely Lydia, whom they thought had died. Things begin to spiral further out of control as their daughter appears to be being haunted by her dead sister (whichever one that may be) and both parents begin to go a bit crazy, Sarah especially. Secrets get revealed that threaten to shatter the already fragile balance they're maintaining until finally the truth about the accident comes out. The concept is pretty creepy and the setting is perfect for it. The characters aren't exactly likable, but no one is really as contemptuous as some recent "protagonists" in other novels, which makes it easier to root for them. Once things really get rolling, the twists come out pretty fast and furious and the suspense builds to a somewhat shocking conclusion. Unlikely to be the thriller of the year, but a very entertaining read that is perfect for the Halloween season.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated The Silent Governess in Books
Feb 11, 2019
Even though this book was a bit longer than I am generally used to, I didn't notice the length as the chapters were quite manageable and the plot had me guessing and speculating over what would happen next. The book reminded me of Jane Eyre, which I still have yet to finish, but with more modern language. I found it interesting how well the Christian elements were woven into the plot - dare I use the word tastefully. I've read books in which the use of Christian influence feels stilted and awkward, almost as if it were added in as an afterthought to appeal to a certain audience. This does not feel that way, this feels genuine and sincere, such as when Olivia does not feel she is following the path God wants for her and her father's remorse over his alcoholism. All of the characters were well-defined and the loose ends of each of their subplots were resolved by the end of the text very satisfactorily. I also found the "silent" theme entertaining in how it played a part throughout the text, and the various ways that it popped up, whether for humor or for a more serious note. While I likely would not have selected this text for my reading pleasure if it were not offered to me to review, I am glad that I was given the opportunity to read it, as I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent within its pages.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2072 KP) rated A Trail of Lies in Books
May 14, 2021
Tracking the Truth
With her boyfriend unavailable due to an assignment with the police, Jazz Ramsey has promised to look in on Kim, Nick’s mother, to make sure she is already. While Kim is an alcoholic, Jazz still wasn’t expecting the frantic middle of the night phone call announcing that Kim killed someone in her backyard. Jazz hurries over to find no body in the backyard, and the cadaver dogs she brings in give a split decision about whether someone died there. Then a body does turn up in a park, and Kim clams up. Can Jazz figure out what is really going on?
I came to author Kylie Logan because of her fun cozies. This book has a more serious tone. It deals with Kim’s alcoholism and its effect on Nick pretty realistically, for example. But those moments are lightened by the dogs that Jazz works with, especially her new puppy. The result are characters that are very rich. I love Jazz, and her family and friends do a wonderful job of rounding out her character while also being real themselves. The mystery is strong with plenty of suspects and events to keep us confused until Jazz finally begins to piece things together at the end. All of the books in this series are wonderful. If you’ve missed them, start them today. If you’re already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one.
I came to author Kylie Logan because of her fun cozies. This book has a more serious tone. It deals with Kim’s alcoholism and its effect on Nick pretty realistically, for example. But those moments are lightened by the dogs that Jazz works with, especially her new puppy. The result are characters that are very rich. I love Jazz, and her family and friends do a wonderful job of rounding out her character while also being real themselves. The mystery is strong with plenty of suspects and events to keep us confused until Jazz finally begins to piece things together at the end. All of the books in this series are wonderful. If you’ve missed them, start them today. If you’re already a fan, you’ll enjoy this one.
ClareR (5584 KP) rated That Reminds Me in Books
Jul 30, 2020
That Reminds Me was a book that immediately made me sit up and take notice. The language is poetic and raw, and that reflects the experience of the main protagonist, K. It’s presented as a series of memories, so some memories are clearer and easier to understand than others - and this is mostly down to the K’s Bipolar disorder, I think, but also down to how we remember our own past. The clearest descriptions seem to be when he is self-harming, drinking and his descriptions of his alcoholism.
K has a very disjointed childhood: he’s taken into care as a small child, in a largely white community, but his foster parents, and in particular his foster mother, seem to take notice of him and spend time with him. This comes to an end when his foster mother dies of lung cancer. K then goes to live in Tottenham with an aunt. Here he is able to explore his Ghanaian roots, whilst living in poverty in a community where knife crime is commonplace, Grime is the music of choice and God rules all.
There is so much in this short book that I could talk about, but then I’m sure that I’d ruin the readers own experience. I think it’s a book that’s well worth reading and experiencing, but be warned: this is not a book that is wholly comfortable or enjoyable. But is it good? Oh yes, it most certainly is.
K has a very disjointed childhood: he’s taken into care as a small child, in a largely white community, but his foster parents, and in particular his foster mother, seem to take notice of him and spend time with him. This comes to an end when his foster mother dies of lung cancer. K then goes to live in Tottenham with an aunt. Here he is able to explore his Ghanaian roots, whilst living in poverty in a community where knife crime is commonplace, Grime is the music of choice and God rules all.
There is so much in this short book that I could talk about, but then I’m sure that I’d ruin the readers own experience. I think it’s a book that’s well worth reading and experiencing, but be warned: this is not a book that is wholly comfortable or enjoyable. But is it good? Oh yes, it most certainly is.
Merissa (11707 KP) rated Wish (Indigo Dreams #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Jun 7, 2023)
This is the story of Indigo, a sixteen-year-old girl who dreams of being a ballet dancer. Having taken ballet lessons for years, she understands that it isn't something that will just happen without a lot of hard work. However, she is struggling at the present due to family circumstances. Wish tells her story, about the circumstances and decisions made that set her on the path to her future.
This was very well-written with characters that were believable and fully dimensional. The storyline was well-paced and continued to hold my interest throughout. The romance between Jesse and Indigo actually takes a back seat in the story behind the ballet which makes a nice change in a Young Adult book. You never know which way things will go until you get there. This is not just some "everything is peachy" fluffy book, it is a book that deals with a serious subject, alcoholism, in a very realistic way and shows how it impacts not only the drinker but friends and family too.
This is a very different book that is well worth the time it takes to read. I would like to read more about Indigo and her dreams. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 12, 2015
This was very well-written with characters that were believable and fully dimensional. The storyline was well-paced and continued to hold my interest throughout. The romance between Jesse and Indigo actually takes a back seat in the story behind the ballet which makes a nice change in a Young Adult book. You never know which way things will go until you get there. This is not just some "everything is peachy" fluffy book, it is a book that deals with a serious subject, alcoholism, in a very realistic way and shows how it impacts not only the drinker but friends and family too.
This is a very different book that is well worth the time it takes to read. I would like to read more about Indigo and her dreams. Definitely recommended.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 12, 2015
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2) in Books
Nov 18, 2019
Burdening your detective characters with personal problems has a long tradition. Alcoholism, messy relationships and lack of respect for authority are common. But Maltman delivers a cut about all of these with Brian Caskey, a fiction author with mental health issues which mean he really shouldn't be getting out of his depth.
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.
Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.
Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception
ClareR (5584 KP) rated True Story in Books
Jan 16, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed this highly original book. It’s written as a series of emails, transcripts of audio interviews, successive drafts of annotated college admission essays and screenplays (some of which are written when the main female character was a child). True Story tells the story of a young woman who, when too drunk to defend herself, is sexually assaulted in the backseat of a car by two boys on the local lacrosse team. Or was she? Because they deny it, and the fact that they went to the local private school and were seemingly sober (or more so than she was), seems to help people side with them and call her a liar. They gaslight her, make her doubt herself, and the damage this causes her, follows her into adulthood. She finds herself in a very damaging relationship that she struggles to escape from.
Out of all the boys on the lacrosse team, Nick also struggles with the consequences of that night. Whilst he wasn’t in the car, he feels the guilt of those boys’ actions, and he slips into alcoholism as a result (there may well be other reasons as well, but this is what I read into it).
I think I probably inhaled this book. It’s one of those that you start and then find it very difficult to put down. I loved the jumps in presentation, particularly the screenplays. I was urging Alice to stand up for herself and walk out of her dangerous relationship.
It’s a fascinating novel that I’d most definitely recommend.
Out of all the boys on the lacrosse team, Nick also struggles with the consequences of that night. Whilst he wasn’t in the car, he feels the guilt of those boys’ actions, and he slips into alcoholism as a result (there may well be other reasons as well, but this is what I read into it).
I think I probably inhaled this book. It’s one of those that you start and then find it very difficult to put down. I loved the jumps in presentation, particularly the screenplays. I was urging Alice to stand up for herself and walk out of her dangerous relationship.
It’s a fascinating novel that I’d most definitely recommend.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Heatwave in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The protagonists in this book were Jasmine and Felicity, and the story was told from their perspectives. Felicity is telling the story at the present day, she has to go back to her home-town where she grew up, to find a girl that has been kidnapped. Because “only she knows how to find her”. Felicity is a very troubled character, she has a drinking problem, and suffers from quite a few mental health problems. Jasmine and Felicity were best friends at school, and Jasmine is a person who tells the story from the past. I really liked Jasmine’s story, it is more intriguing and gripping compared to Felicity’s.
The narrative was very well balanced, in my opinion. Felicity keeps kindling the suspense with “her big secret” and “what have I done?” moments, making me restless to find out what this huge secret is. And Jasmine is telling a really absorbing story, leading very cleverly to all these huge discoveries. The topics discussed in this book were alcoholism, teenagers and their behaviour, mental health issues, forbidden romance and many more.
I really enjoyed the author’s clever writing style. The book feels quite calm and smooth, there is no police involved and it is only alone, an ordinary woman trying to uncover what actually happened. But at the same time, this book is carrying a shroud of mystery, that my curious side could not wait to unravel. The chapters felt quite short, and the dual perspective made this book very entertaining. The culmination of this novel did not disappoint me, I was not expecting the “Big Secret” to be this awesome.
The narrative was very well balanced, in my opinion. Felicity keeps kindling the suspense with “her big secret” and “what have I done?” moments, making me restless to find out what this huge secret is. And Jasmine is telling a really absorbing story, leading very cleverly to all these huge discoveries. The topics discussed in this book were alcoholism, teenagers and their behaviour, mental health issues, forbidden romance and many more.
I really enjoyed the author’s clever writing style. The book feels quite calm and smooth, there is no police involved and it is only alone, an ordinary woman trying to uncover what actually happened. But at the same time, this book is carrying a shroud of mystery, that my curious side could not wait to unravel. The chapters felt quite short, and the dual perspective made this book very entertaining. The culmination of this novel did not disappoint me, I was not expecting the “Big Secret” to be this awesome.
Kristina (502 KP) rated The Woman in the Window in Books
Dec 7, 2020
The Woman in the Window ended on a high and unexpected note. The surprise ending pushed it from a 2.5 to a 3, really. On and off, the story became boring, then interesting, so on and so forth. It took me quite a while to read it because of this switch off, but the moments it became interesting kept me going all the way until the end - and I'm glad I persevered. Anna was dealing with so many things: the separation from her husband, agoraphobia, multiple medications, and alcoholism. As I berated her for swallowing another glass of wine, I also felt bad for her and the unimaginable situation she lived in. Every part of me empathized with her as each introduced character found a way to discredit what she believed she had seen; I was continuously wagging a figurative finger at the empty bottles of wine in her kitchen. I waited for her to realize just how much damage the alcohol was causing, how mixing it with her medications (especially the one with hallucinations as a side effect) was causing her to spiral out of control. Even still, I wanted to believe her - she was so adamant, so sure of herself, you can't help but wish she weren't drunk and doped on meds all the time. It was fun watching each piece of the puzzle shift, fitting in multiple places or not fitting in at all, to suddenly adding up to a whole picture. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I would look forward to seeing this one on the big screen, if it were to happen.